Race_and_the_Community

Race and my Community Traci Reimer University of Phoenix Race and my Community In my community, there are several different races and ethnic backgrounds. Not everyone gets along, but for the most part they do. Just in my neighborhood there are Asians, African Americans, Hispanic and Caucasian. In my neighborhood, everyone gets along. It should not matter what race a person is, what matters is that everyone gets along. Human interaction in my community varies. Depending on what part of the community a person is in. I have lived in my neighborhood for almost nine years, and there have not been any problems with our neighbors. We all get along great. There is communication, friendliness and all the neighbors watch out for the others. There is a small community here called Oildale. It is predominantly Caucasian and very few Hispanics. As the community started out there were no other races than Caucasians. If a person was African American, they would not be seen in Oildale and if an African American was to go to Oildale, they would not leave the small community the same way they entered. Times have changed over the years and Oildale has other races and sees few problems there. If there are any problems with our local government when it comes to race, it has not been publicized. I think this is a good thing to do as it shows that the people in authority no matter what race can work together in harmony. The schools in Bakersfield, CA are mixed with several different races and there have been turf wars. If the school is predominantly African American, there will be issues there. If the school is predominantly Caucasians, there will be issues there among certain groups. The two major groups at the schools are “Skinheads” and the “Crips”. For the most part, the kids do get along. In my community, there are some that look like me as in the same race. On my street alone, there are four families that are Caucasian, two families that are African American, two families that are Asian, and directly across the street there are two families that are Hispanic. There is a variety of races and all get along. This is what makes our neighborhood a good one. I personally have not witnessed racial issues in my community. Most of the leaders I have read about in my community treat everyone the same, regardless of race, or ethnic background. There are sad facts that racism is alive in Bakersfield, and there are people who will accuse someone of being racist even when they are not. In 2004, a local elementary school principle murdered his mother-in-law, wife, and three children. The prosecuting attorney deputy district Lisa Green successfully prosecuted him and he now is on death row. I was able to talk to Lisa Green a little bit about the idea that she is Caucasian and the suspect was African American. According to Lisa Green, “There are several people who feel that I am prejudice against African Americans. This is far from the truth as I do not look at color at any time in my life. Especially when it is justice for a family of five that died at the hands of their own relative. I would have fought just as hard if the suspect was of any race. My main point here was justice and that was it.” (Personal interview, 2010) Members of my community for the majority treat others like me and other races as they would want to be treated; with respect. There are issues when someone gets mad at another person, this is normal in everyday life. For instance: all of my neighbors, a diverse group, all talk to and treat each other with the utmost respect. We all watch out for others. In our neighborhood, there is not one person who does not get along. We all watch out for each other’s property and will report it if anything does not seem to be normal. This is not with a neighborhood watch program, this is just community members getting along and watching out for each other. When it comes to Bakersfield as a whole, there are ones who treat everyone with respect and there are still quite a bit of racist people. It does not matter what race it is. Recently there was a rape at one of our local parks. The rape was a Hispanic man raping a Caucasian woman. This escalated into a race war. According to KERO 23 website (2009),”The popular hangout has been the site of racial violence in the past months and messages on craigslist.com are promoting a racial rumble. Dozens of blogs on the popular Web site craigslist.com have been promoting an American Rally, but those saying they will participate, write of their motives and that has authorities concerned. The posting looks innocent enough: "August 8, take back our park!" It's an event Internet organizers are calling a “Peaceful, family centered BBQ with American flags flying.” But those posts have sparked at least 30 other posts transforming the peaceful event into a racial rumble. One post stated, “Our mission is to win this alien invasion fight." So how did it turn ugly so quickly' One post stated, "this whole idea stemmed from support of racist criminal assaults on people," in reference to the alleged hate crimes earlier this year at Hart Park between whites and Hispanics. Michael Whorf of the KCSD said, “Any type of incident, when it comes up, we always take it seriously.” (para. 1) Members of my community treat people in many different ways. It depends on the person and how that person was raised. For the most part, when I see someone that is the same race as I am, they treat me fine. There are also people of the same race that I am that treat people that are the same race horribly. It really depends on the person and not the race. Each person from each race treats people differently. It is in every community. When I was working at a collection agency, I worked with people of all races. I worked with one Hispanic man who was also my immediate supervisor. He treated me like I did not belong anywhere. There were others who were of the same race, and they were treated like royalty. His issue with me was because I am a woman and I am Caucasian. This made for a very hostile working environment and the job he held did not last long. The texts that I use for school do have information about other races as well as my race. It is just something that is always done. Since I do not work, I do not know much about work manuals, but in the past, the manuals did not say anything specific about a certain race. The only thing that it had was a different section was written in Spanish for the Hispanic employees. The local media does represent people like me. Most of the newscasters are Caucasian and they cover things that may happen. The media doesn’t single out to one race or the other. They also represent our town and bring us the news so we can find out what has happened in our local community from gang affiliation to a good deed that may have been done. There are not just Caucasian newscasters, but the majority is Caucasian. There are many similarities between myself and ones who are in leadership. Although the Mayor, the District Attorney is Caucasian, there are several council members who are of a different race. There are minority groups that are represented in the community. One group in particular are the Latino’s. According to Hardisty, D. 2009,“Latinos are California's fastest growing minority community and by 2042 are expected to be the racial/ethnic majority in the state. Yet they are among the least likely to vote, allowing California's political decisions to be made by white non-Latino voters and more organized, mobilized ethnic minority groups, researchers say. As the 2010 political campaigns are coming alive in California, the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association has scheduled a meeting in Bakersfield Friday to map out a strategy for encouraging minority communities to participate in Kern County's political process. "It's a matter of empowering people to get involved with their government at the national, state and local levels," said Danny Lee, president of its Central Valley chapter.” (Hardisty, 2009, para. 1). I would start by cleaning up the lower income areas that are already in disrepair. I would rebuild and re-rent to lower income families that are trying to make something of themselves. I would also help the abused families by getting them a place to rent and pay enough to keep them there and help them get a job so they can pick up the pieces of their broken past. All in all, I live in a great community and for the most part, everyone gets along just fine. There are always going to be a “bad apple” in a community and this cannot be helped. What is important is that we all learn to get along and live in peace and harmony regardless of race.   References (2009). KERO 23. Retrieved from http://www.turnto23.com/east_county/20297277/detail.html Hardisty, D. (2009, December 7). Group seeks to turn out minority vote. The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved from http://www.bakersfield.com/news/local/x211509220/Group-seeks-to-turn-out-minority-vote